1. Field of the Invention
An apparatus consistent with the present general inventive concept relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus having a maintenance configuration capable of maintaining an optimum ink ejecting performance of a print head.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus such as a printer, an electronic copier, a facsimile, a multifunction device, etc. may be classified depending on a printing type into an inkjet type that ejects ink through a nozzle, a thermal transfer type that uses a thermal head, or an electrophotographic type that forms an image through processes of charging, exposing, developing, transferring, and fusing.
An image forming apparatus of the inkjet type includes a print head having a nozzle. The nozzle is located on an ink ejecting surface of the print head and may be blocked by a foreign substance or may be polluted by an ink of other colors. Also, a meniscus in an end part of the nozzle formed by an ink tension may be broken.
Accordingly, the image forming apparatus of the inkjet type needs a maintenance apparatus to maintain the nozzle and the print head to be an optimum state. The maintenance apparatus may include modules, units, or configurations to perform a wiping function, a capping function to protect the print head, a spitting function to remove a foreign material in the nozzle, a scrapping function to clean a wiper a wiper, etc. The wiping configuration may be used to clean a surface of a print head to remove excess ink and a foreign material of an end part of the nozzle.
A conventional image forming apparatus employs an inkjet print head of an array type extending along a widthwise direction of a printing medium to be capable of printing a single line at once and a wiping configuration to clean the print head. The wiping configuration may include a single blade type wiper, a lengthwise direction of which is disposed in a widthwise direction of a printing medium. The wiper concurrently performs a wiping operation with respect to a plurality of print heads while moving in a parallel direction with a proceeding direction of a printing medium. After the wiping, the nozzle may be controlled to spit any excess partially ejected or excess ink into a spittoon that has a widthwise length of the wiper in a side of the wiper. Scrapped ink collected through the spittoon is ejected through an ink ejecting hole formed in a middle part of the spittoon. Also, scrapped ink that is adhered to an end part of the wiper during the wiping may be removed by using a scrapper.
In the image forming apparatus employing the wiper having the above configuration, the wiping efficiency may be poor because it may be necessary to use a wiper blade having a wide width, and it may be difficult to perform the wiping with respect to each of the plurality of print heads with the uniform force.
Also, if the wiper blade is formed of a rubber material, and since rubber may absorb ink, the volume of the rubber expands as ink is absorbed. Accordingly, an end of the wiper may be deformed into a wave pattern shape, which may negatively impact the wiping performance.
Also, during the scrapping operation, scrapped ink that has been transferred to the scrapper may be inversely transferred to the wiper blade, thereby causing a mixed color in printing or a nozzle blockage.